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04 — REAL ESTATE

Real estate succession: how to receive and divide inherited properties

When an estate includes real property — the family home, rental apartments, rural land, commercial premises — the succession process takes on added complexity: properties must be valued, decisions made about how to divide them among heirs, titles registered, and conflicts over the property's fate (sell, keep, occupy) often resolved. The financial dimension intertwines with the emotional one, requiring sensitivity as well as legal expertise.

We accompany real estate successions through every stage: declaration of heirs, registration at the Property Registry, consensual or judicial partition, allocation of residential use, assignment of inheritance rights, and resolution of disputes among heirs.

Specific stages in real estate successions

Declaration of heirs

The first step: a judge formally recognizes who the heirs are. Without this declaration there is no succession title over the property. We accompany clients through the filing, official reports, and issuance of the ruling.

Registration at the Property Registry

With the declaration of heirs, properties are registered in the names of the heirs as co-owners. A judicial order to the Registry is required and, in some cases, a simultaneous notarial deed. Once registered, heirs may dispose of the property (sell, mortgage, assign).

Partition of real property

If the heirs do not wish to maintain co-ownership, there are three options: division into separate lots (when the property is physically or legally divisible), assignment to one heir with compensation to the others, or sale with distribution of proceeds. Each option has fiscal and practical implications.

Allocation of use of the family home

The surviving spouse has special rights over the family home (Art. 2383 CCyCN: a free and lifelong real right of habitation over the property that constituted the last marital home, subject to certain conditions).

Assignment of inheritance rights over real property

An heir may assign their rights over the estate (including real property) to another heir or a third party. The assignment is made by notarial deed. We advise on the advisability, valuation, and drafting of the contract.

Typical disputes in real estate successions

  • Heir occupying the property and refusing to vacate or pay rent
  • Disagreements over property values for partition purposes
  • Resistance to sale when a purchase offer exists
  • Improvements made by only one heir during the period of co-ownership
  • Properties in another jurisdiction (another province, another country)
  • Properties with debts, mortgages, or pending lawsuits
  • Will that affects the forced heirs' reserved portion

Tax aspects

The transfer of real property by inheritance has tax implications: in the Province of Buenos Aires there is a tax on gratuitous transfers of assets (Law 14.044), while in CABA and most other provinces there is not. Court fees, registry costs, and professional fees apply. When heirs sell the property, additional taxes may arise (ITI, Income Tax). We provide comprehensive advice to optimize the tax burden within the law.

Why choose Tchestnykh & Asociados

  • Coordinated team: succession law + real estate + tax
  • Handling complex successions with properties in multiple jurisdictions
  • Defense in heir disputes with sensitivity and firmness
  • Tax optimization of the transfer and eventual sale
  • Real estate purchase/sale
  • Succession (family)
  • Mortgages